"Not now I am busy researching these book from Lowl's estate," growled Ursina to Paullus. Paullus had tried to get Ursina to at least take a break to eat but she refused again.
"You really have to eat or you won't make it to Cassomir," repeated Paullus for the fourth time.
Armania was treating the scholars to another round of training, and then asked them if they knew how to cast Restoration. "You see, Erevel is in need of Restoration. She lost some Wisdom in our tour through the desert Caravanserai in the Dreamlands."
"You actually went to the Dreamlands?" Wreben queried, "I don't want to set foot anywhere near that dimension."
Ursina had spent the last four days scouring these books from Lowl's estate, Elements through the Spirals of Time, Spiders of Sin and Sky, and Theological Agreements of the Kingdom. She was searching for information about a Viscount's Signet Ring, the first item on the list pointed to by The Yellow King. With Armania's help they had gathered this information.
Lowls learned that the viscount referenced was Viscount Pietro Brellin, a mysterious but popular noble in the Dreamlands city of Celephais. According to one of Lowls’s travelogues, Celephais was an opulent and populous city. Although visitors and natives alike experience the passage of time normally in Celephais, the city appears frozen in time. Lowls visited at noon, and the sun remained at its zenith even though he spent hours negotiating with the viscount for his ring.
Hopefully one final day of study would provide the last clues to acquiring the ring, and maybe the code phrase to use when casting the Occult Ritual. At last a final clue clicked into place and she had learned.
Viscount Brellin was known for hosting courtly and lavish events. Fearing to lose the viscount’s favor, attendees ignore any unusual happenings at these events. She learned the proper phrase that allowed them to use the Dreamlands excursion occult ritual to reach the Viscount’s Gala. "The sun ever sets o'er Mount Aran.
Now that the group had the information they waited until the next night to try the ritual. Unfortunately the ritual failed, the possible Animate Dream did not show up on failure, so the group considered themselves lucky and waited until the next night, when they succeeded at the ritual.
The group arrived in the Celephais together in a crowded ballroom of cavernous proportions. The ballroom was several hundred feet wide and lit with the reddish light of sunset through west-facing windows. It was thronged with thousands of attendees in courtly dress. Many were dancing, but a few conversed in small groups or enjoyed hors d’oeuvres presented by liveried servants. Here and there, a slim, gray cat wound its way through the dancing partygoers. Although most of the partygoers were Celephais’s well to do and were dressed in fine clothes, other attendees wore clothes that were threadbare or several decades out of fashion. The heroes, were not dressed for a formal ball, the other attendees did not remark upon their out of place fashion or manners. These attendees were, for the most part, pleased to have been invited to this high profile event and studiously avoid acting unusual, going so far as to ignore anything disturbing or troubling around them. They fear being ejected from the ball—and, as a result, exiled from the entire social scene of Celephais—for making a fuss about any odd elements of the viscount or his ball.
Through the windows, the group could see an enormous city of marble buildings and high columns. This was Celephais, one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Dreamlands. Beyond the city stood Mount Aran, crowned with snow. The sun hung just a fraction above the horizon. In front of each of the windows is a quartet of musicians. Their elegant music fills the ballroom. A high platform bearing a throne with a commanding view of the festivities rises at the southern end of the ballroom.
As the party headed toward the throne, possibly to talk with Pietro Brellin, they witnessed a a thick rope of webbing drop down from above, snare a partygoer, and haul the attendee into the darkness above. Looking up the group saw that thick webbing and areas of darkness that obscured the ballroom's ceiling sixty feet above the lacquered floor. Sounds of scuttling and clicking echoed from this web-shrouded darkness. As they looked upwards dribbles of blood and other fluids trickled from the darkness, pooling onto the ballroom’s floor. The partygoers ignored the snaring, politely looking away as the victims are hoisted up, and they danced around the unpleasant pools of gore instinctively, pretending to not notice them.
Ciprian confirmed from a nearby attendee that this was the magnificent city of Celephais, and that this ball was hosted by Viscount Pietro Brellin who sat upon the throne. The party headed to the dais where Gavril headed right to the front Brellin and stared at him.
"Pleath move out of the way. Cough!! I am mithing the entertainment." said the urbane and handsome man with high cheekbones, blond hair, and sympathetic green eyes.
"Are you Viscount Brellin?" asked Ciprian pushing past Gavril as he tried to make a better impression.
"I don't know you. Are you from Celephaith?" asked the Viscount.
"No we are from Versex," answered Ciprian. "This is certainly a fine ball."
"Tell me about your homeland. Are you alone or are there more of your group?" asked Pietro.
Ciprian introduced and related the groups recent history, eliminating the stay at Briarstone Asylum. Viscount Brellin ate up the story with glee.
"Ah, I thee. Ith there thomething I can do for you?" queried the Viscount.
"We are looking for a signet ring. Do you have one available that we could trade for?" asked Ciprian.
The viscount admitted that he wasn’t currently wearing one, but that he could have a valet fetch one for the party if they performed a diplomatic favor for him. The most prestigious dance at the ball is the Sunset Waltz, and the viscount had planned to dance with his chosen partner as soon as sunset arrived. The viscount had only recently learned that his beloved would be arriving at the ball just in time for the Sunset Waltz, and the viscount would prefer to dance with his beloved over any other guest.
"Unfortunately, I have already promithed to perform the Thunthet Waltz with otherth—with three other guethth. I athk you to break off my promitheth to each of the three other attendeeth." proposed Brellin. "Thith mutht be done dithcreetly and diplomatically. If you can obtain a polite acknowledgment of the declined danth from each of the three partnerth, you will earn a thignet ring."
"Who are these guests?" queried Ciprian. "And where can we find them?"
He named the guests as the elegant Lady Urdrenda Splinterbone, an influential trader named Ardvin Telgriette, and a beautiful but common woman simply named Maudette. He wasn’t sure where in the party to find them, but encouraged asking around.
Ciprian gathered the group together and related the conversation with Viscount Brellin. They decided to try and find the party goers in the order Brellin gave him. Spotting a liveried server, Ciprian hailed him down.
"Do you know where we could find Lady Splinterbone?" Ciprian asked.
"Last I saw her she was in the north east corner of the ballroom. You could head that direction and someone closer could point her out. She is a is a stunningly beautiful woman with dark hair, red lips, and an elegant, clinging black dress." the server declared.
"Thank you we will go look for her," replied Ciprian.
Just as the group was headed off the server leaned over to Ciprian and whispered. "Lady Splinterbone is a vampire."
"I am having a delightful time tonight, and I particularly enjoy the reddening light that currently suffuses the ballroom." she remarked to no one in particular.
Ciprian approached the Lady to negotiate for the Viscount. "We are here representing Viscount Brellin. He respectfully asks to rescind his offer of the Sunset Waltz dance he promised you. He would like to make this as diplomatic as possible. He certainly does not want a scene made of it."
"Well, the gall of the man to rescind an offer to a Lady. I am not certain I could take kindly to his refusal." the lady replied. "I insist that you immediately provide a dance partner for me!"
Ciprian excused himself, "I do not possess the agility to dance sufficiently with you."
Paullus stepped forward and offered his services. Lady Splinterbone accepted immediately and the two began a beguine. While dancing with Paullus, she whispers that for her to keep quiet about the viscount’s rudeness, she requires just a little bit of blood.
Paullus looked around aghast at the request. Noticing his reluctance, Lady Splinterbone threatened to publicly denounce the viscount’s discourtesy. Torn between duty and self preservation Paullus equivocated before finally agreeing to the lady's request. She nuzzled his neck and drew a small amount of blood before ending the dance, licking her lips seductively.
"So, do we have your word to honorably accept the Viscount's rescinding his offer?" Ciprian asked after making sure that Paullus could still walk comfortably.
"Yes, you may so inform the Viscount," Lady Splinterbone acknowledged resignedly.
"That wasn't too difficult," said Armania.
"That is what you think," Paullus responded blotting his neck.
Ciprian found another waiter who directed him toward a group of men talking together. Just as Ciprian grabbed for a canape, a droplet of blood fell from the ceiling directly on the appetizer rendering it unappetizing. The whole group moved toward the cluster of men who were talking business. Ardvin was a thin, dark-skinned man with short dark hair and a neatly trimmed goatee, who enjoyed being the center of attention in this corner of the gala.
When Ciprian approached him with the Viscounts apologies, Ardvin took the news badly, he peevishly insisted that Ciprian convince the viscount to change his mind. Ardvin was both loud and boorish in his treatment Ciprian.
Erevel and Gavril gathered the rest of the party and discussed the situation. Armania suggested that they use the Emeralds from the Caravanserai to entice the trader with and offer of a new source of the gems from the Ooth-Nargai valley, which she heard about from a local. Ciprian agreed but suggested that Ursina should try and bluff the fellow into agreement.
Ursina approached Ardvin with the offer and when he asked about the emeralds, produced one to entice him even further. Ardvin was interested and he swapped accepting the Viscount's decline for one of the emeralds and a contract for selling them.
Having completed two pieces of the task, Ciprian approached a young woman in ordinary garb to ask about Maudette. Of course she knew of her but was clearly frightened.
"I know we are not to notice, but a web strand came down from the ceiling as Maudette was standing by yonder window. It grabbed her and hoisted her up to the webbing. I have a terrible feeling about this whole ordeal." the young woman related.
"Where was that?" Ciprian inquired.
"Between those two windows." the young woman pointed out the location.
Searching the area the group found a narrow ladder behind a tapestry leading up to and through the webs on the ceiling. They climbed up, while the partygoers pointedly ignored them, to find a catwalk obscured by unnatural darkness.
DM's Notes: The group earned 1600 XP for the nights work. They still must get Maudette's agreement if she is alive.
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